Preview: Champions League hopefuls Fiorentina welcome a floundering Milan to the Stadio Artemio Franchi
The last time Milan won a match was on 23 February, a 2-0 victory on the road against Sampdoria that saw them move into the top half of the table. Since then, they have been dumped out of the Champions League and have just picked up one point from their last four league games--and have slipped into 12th place as a result.
Fiorentina, on the other hand, are riding high thanks to their 1-0 victory over Napoli on Sunday that saw the gap between the two teams closed to just seven points. And, as a result, coach Vincenzo Montella is still hopeful that his side will be able to continue moving up the table.
"Now we're trying to get into the Champions League spot," he stated to Sky after his side's victory.
"We have opened up a gap between us and fifth and sixth place, so we're going to try to catch up to Napoli."
However, a big blow for Montella's men will be the absence of Mario Gomez. The German international suffered a knee injury in clash with the Partenopei on Sunday, and with Giuseppe Rossi still sidelined due to a knee injury of his own, on-loan striker Alessandro Matri will lead the attack against his former colleagues, supported by the pacey Juan Cuadrado and Joaquin.
Although their 15-point advantage over their visitors certainly gives them a comfortable cushion, the Viola will be keen not to drop any points if they want to have any hope of catching third-place Napoli. As for Milan, a loss, coupled with wins for Udinese and Genoa will see them slip down into a dismal 14th place--something that would not ease up any of the growing pressure on Clarence Seedorf.
While the Rossoneri welcome Christian Abbiati back from his one-match ban, they will be without a slew of personnel including young defender Mattia De Sciglio, Ignazio Abate, and Riccardo Montolivo. Mario Balotelli will be deployed in his usual position with some kind of combination featuring Kaka, Keisuke Honda, and Adel Taarabt providing support.
Both Kaka and Honda have struggled--Honda especially--since the regime change and it will be interesting to observe if the Japanese international will be able to find his footing this season.
One side have already secured Europa League football but would like to feature in the continent's premier competition. The other are desperate to turn things around for the sake of pride. Fiorentina already defeated Milan this season at the San Siro and like many of the other top-ranked sides, will be keen on grabbing another three against a team that is in free-fall, with no end in sight.
Where to watch the match – live stream, start time, TV channels, live scores
In Canada at 15.45 ET on: beIN Sports Play Canada
In the US at 15.45 EST on: beIN Sports Play
In the UK at 19.45 GMT on: BT Sport 2
In Italy at 20.45 CET on: Sky Calcio 2, Sky Sport 1 HD Italia
For live score updates and more live listings of the the game, visit the Fiorentina vs. Milan match page.
